Crossing the Bar
by Banquo'sGhost
Summary: It felt like a demotion to be sent a new partner when you had years of experience saving people. It takes time to get to know someone long enough to consider them a friend. Short Omniverse drabble(s) involving what happens in between or after episodes. Rook/FemaleBen (now Jen)
1. A Family Matter

**For those of you who don't know what my Jen 10 looks like, you can find a link to my tumblr on my profile and I have an art section with MANY pictures of her.**

**This takes place after Episode 2 of Omniverse**

Steam hit Max directly in the face causing his nose to wrinkle in preparation for a sneeze. The Plumbers' kitchen quarters was a mess today, crowded with fresh foreign vegetables and dried meat. This was a complicated dish and would take hours to make, but it was worth it. Many years had gone by since he'd last tasted this soup, good memories followed the vapors that hit his nose. Fond memories of laughing children, grateful workers, and the scent of a beautiful woman. Max grinned, tempted to taste the meal before it was finished, but he had to wait for the final ingredient to be chopped.

"Grandpa!" a shrill noise broke the old cook out of his day dream.

"Grandpa," the now annoyed voice grew closer.

Max smiled and placed a lid on top of the steaming pot, waiting for his young granddaughter to barge inside filled with stories to share. It was no surprise then to see Jen Tennyson burst through the doors to his kitchen, but Max's face fell slightly when he saw the look in her eyes. Usually upbeat and relaxed, Jen had her eyebrows scrunched together with a tight frown on her face as if she'd smelled her grandfather's meal directly.

"Somethin' the matter kiddo," Max stated as he eyed his granddaughter's odd stance.

With a huff Jen sat on a stool opposite of him. Her arms wrapped around her bare shoulders, as if Jen were cold despite sitting in front of his stove. Lips pursed together as she silently stared at her reflection in the granite countertops before meeting her grandfather's worried gaze.

"I need to talk about Rook," she stated flatly.

Max took a deep breathe, "Well, Jen I don't know if here is the best-"

Jen immediately put her hand in front of his, "No Grandpa. I NEED to talk about this now. I need to know why exactly you set this guy up to work with me."

"Jen, I really don't think now is the time-"

"Grandpa," the young heroine rolled her eyes, "you're not getting out of this one so easily! I need to talk to you! I've seen this guy fight. He just took down Psyphon today all by himself and he fights like a ninja!"

Jen proceeded to move her arms in a way that her video games and favorite programs portrayed such warriors.

Max's lip twitched, holding back a smile, "I take it you're impressed with him?"

Jen's stance faltered, "Well, yeah, I guess so. I mean, if you like that sort of thing. But don't tell _him _that, and besides Grandpa, that's not my point!"

"Okay," Max backed off slightly from the steaming pot that separated the two, "so what IS the problem?"

"That! What I just said!" Jen's eyes grew wide. "Rook's ninja-like skills, how smart he is, and how he just is! I mean why is someone like that not in the Plumber's special forces or something? Do we even have special forces?"

Max wiped off the little bits of steam that clung to his forehead. His back ached from a long day of wrestling live food in preparation for this meal, not that Jen asked. There were times when he was so frustrated with his granddaughter when she chose not to listen to anyone besides herself, but the exasperated look on her face made her appear as if she were ten years old again, and Max melted.

"Yes, but we can't talk about them Jen. Besides, doesn't it make sense for someone like Rook, who ranked the top of his class, to be partnered with another someone who saved the universe?" Max replied.

"Saved it more than once," Jen muttered loud enough for him to hear. "and yeah, I already thought of that. Grandpa, I was going through his file and I just don't get it. I mean, this guy is super skilled! Why was he, mr. top-of-his-class, sent to guard alien wheat for a year? Why is he just **now **being recognized? Doesn't that that strike you as odd?"

"Bureaucracy isn't always perfect around here. Lot's of alien races, lot's of customs, cultures, and individual lives to sort through in order to maintain this place. Some people get over-looked."

Jen pursed her lips again and harshly stood up from the stool. The sound of the chair's screech from the unexpected move echoed throughout the kitchen and over sound of the bubbling soup.

The young girl gripped the edges of the granite countertops until her pale knuckles were white, "Come on, don't treat me like some kid for once. As if you and Azmuth weren't watching my every move. You guys seriously needed to send some perfect warrior prince to keep me in line? It's not like I was born yesterday."

"Jen," Max said gently, "you're too young, too inexperienced despite what you have gone through to prove to me or Azmuth that you can work alone."

Jen's mouth opened to retaliate until Max raised his own hand up to silence her.

"I get that you may think of Rook as a babysitter, but he's not. He's not your superior, hence the term partner. I went through something similar when I was first assigned to a unit and let me tell you something, what I learned from them made me out to be the man you see before you."

"Yeah, but-but," Max grinned upon hearing his granddaughter stumble over her speech, "but that was like a billion years ago, and not the point. Rook is, I don't know, too perfect? Like, how do you even know he's a Plumber? He could be some spy out to get me! Wouldn't be the first time."

"So you don't trust him? Is that it?" the older man questioned.

"Grandpa, people have been out to kill me since I was ten. Trust issues are a given," Jen sighed, her shoulders relaxing. "I don't know, it just doesn't seem real. Like it's too much at once."

Placing both his hands on his lower back, Max cracked his bones in place and sighed, "What do you mean?"

Jen's fingers were getting dangerously close to the stove, her head facing downwards to stare at her reflection in the granite. Paper bags of food on each of the counter tops threatened to break apart after being hit a wave of steam emerging from Max's soup pot. The kitchen was crowded with foreign smells and objects, things that Jen was used to seeing and smelling her whole life, but somehow it didn't feel the same to her. Not like before, not like even a week ago.

"Gwen and Kevin are gone. I thought I could take on three goons by myself, but I guess that's not going to happen," the teen replied sadly. "I don't know, okay? Rook being here just reminds me that they're gone. That things aren't going to be the same anymore, I can just feel it."

And so they came to the root of the problem. Max walked around the counter to stand next to his granddaughter. Gently moving her hands away from the hot stove. He looked at her in the eye with a warm smile.

"So this isn't really about Rook is it?"

Jen sighed still holding her Grandfather's hands, refusing to make eye contact, "Rook is okay. I mean, he's kind of cool actually. I don't _really_ have a problem with him. He knows what he's doing and all, and he's funny, but not intentionally so."

"But you miss your cousin and Kevin," Max gently gripped his granddaughter's hands. "Look Jen, this is how life works. You're going through a lot of changes now."

The teen rolled her eyes, "Please, can we not have the puberty talk again?"

Max laughed, "It wasn't that kind of talk kiddo, let me finish. Gwen and Kevin aren't gone for good, and you need to just be happy for them. Even if Rook wasn't your partner you'd still miss them; at least now you have some company on your missions. Gwen and Kevin are living their lives, just starting out in the world like you and Rook are. No one could replace them and they're not gone forever."

"I know that," Jen wined while sliding her hands away from her grandfather's to wipe away the steam that kept hitting her face.

"You know," Max smiled as he walked around the counter to turn down the heat of the stove, "I helped hand pick Rook myself. I believe there are things you could learn from him and vise versa. I'm also positive he isn't a spy."

Jen fought a grin on her face as she shyly met her grandfather's gaze.

"Yeah, I guess he could learn a thing or two from my awesomeness. At the very least, I can teach him my amazing ability to come up with catch phrases on the spot!"

Max laughed and agreed with her statement. She had a wit about her and finally Jen's face was starting to relax back into the carefree expression he was familiar with. Max opened the lid of the soup and began stirring again; reveling in the petulant expression of disgust Jen made when the smell hit her in the face.

"So this really bugged you, huh?" Max inhaled the vapors of the soup with a smile. "You actually bothered to _read _Rook's file. Or read in general."

Jen pouted with a slightly offended look on her face, "Hey I read! Just important stuff, like mission briefings or Sumo Slammer card game manuals. Plus, I was just making sure he was legit. You always taught me to be cautious of those around me."

"Hm," Max agreed, "perhaps I did teach you that. Are you feeling better now kiddo?"

The teen shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms over chest with an unsure expression.

"Yeah, I guess I just needed to get it out of my system."

"Good. Rook is a good kid, although I guess you knew that since he's just 'some perfect warrior prince' to you," Max teased.

"Ugh!" Jen groaned, covering her face with her hands in humiliation. "Oh grandpa, _please _don't say anything about this when Rook is around. The last thing I need is to make this whole partnership weirder than it already is."

A tight expression formed on the older man's face as his eyes slightly trailed to the food storage closet on the other side of the room.

"I'll do my best," he promised.

Jen smiled, satisfied, "Good! Let's just keep this between us."

Afterwards the air felt lighter, not just in the room but between him and his granddaughter. Predictably, Jen excused herself from wanting to eat dinner with him and soon after left the kitchen with a big grin on her face. Max loved seeing his granddaughter happy as any grandfather would. A part of him felt proud that she went through so much trouble to be cautious around this 'new partner,' even if most of those emotions stemmed from loneliness. Max wasn't blind to his granddaughter's life. He knew there were few kids she could really trust, even fewer who she could call a friend. Sometimes it bothered the old cook that Jen refused to hang out with anyone besides her cousin and Kevin. In many ways, he was glad to see that Jen was finally being forced to breach her comfort zone when working with Rook.

Max's heart swelled when he again inhaled the wonderful scent of his unfinished soup, the good memories filled him with joy. Yes, he knew this experience was for her own good. Another memory that she would hopefully cherish later in life.

"Going to need that final ingredient right about now," Max called out, his head facing the storage closet in the back.

"Coming Magister Tennyson," a voice echoed in the small room.

Soon enough a tall, violet skinned alien emerged from the closet with a large basket of chopped up vegetables. Max rubbed the back of his head as Rook found some room on the counter to put the large container down.

"I'm sorry you had to hear all that," Max excused. "I tried to get her out of the room, but she can be so stubborn sometimes. Get's that from her grandmother."

Rook massaged one of his shoulders after putting the heavy basket down. His eyes facing the ground with his mouth twisted in a tight line, unsure how to respond. Max noticed his uncomfortable expression and smiled.

"You know for someone who changes into different alien species on a daily basis, Jen isn't good at handling change," he assured to the young Plumber. "You made quite an impression on her though, it takes a lot to get her to do some research for once. I'm already seeing a change in her for the better."

"I didn't intend to make Jen so uncomfortable with me," Rook muttered while taking a handful of chopped vegetables to Max's pot. "She thinks I'm here to replace her friends."

"You're not replacing them Rook, no one could. Give it time, she's just starting to like you" the old cook continued to stir. "Jen needs to learn that life isn't about getting what you want or what you deserve. In fact, I want you to do me a favor next time you guys go on a mission."

"Anything," Rook stated firmly.

Max stopped stirring the soup, his gaze meeting Rook's directly, "Look out for her. Jen is one of the few family members I have who bothers to visit an old Plumber vet. like me. She has experience, but doesn't really know what to do with it. I guess I'm just saying, no, asking you to make sure she gets home every night. I know I shouldn't worry, but..."

Rook smiled and put the last few bits of chopped food into the soup pot. He knew what it was like to have family worry about you, or vise versa. It was difficult to leave Revvonnah for a world he had only read about in books. In many way Magister Tennyson reminded him of those he once knew at home, and he bowed his head slightly in respect.

"You have my word Magister Tennsyon."

"Good," Max quickly composed himself, "now help me stir this batch. It takes two sets of hands to cut through this thick broth."

"Sure," Rook gripped the handle of the metal spoon and began to push through the many vegetables and meats in the pot. "Oh and, Magister Tennyson?"

"Yeah Rook?" Max grunted while stirring.

"What is a ninja?"

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**author's note: So yeah, If you guys like this please review. I'm not sure I'll continue this, but if enough people like it then I'll write more; otherwise it'll just be this one-shot.**

**I like genderbent Ben, not just because I like genderbent characters, but because I just like the Rook romance/friendship this way. I like Ben/Rook and support it, but it's harder for me to relate to (just not my thing). **

**Ben being a girl (Jen) does not make his entitlement or arrogance any less. I guess that's another thing I'm trying to say. Jen is still a white girl in the US which yes, women in general don't get many roles in movies, tv series, or comics, but girls like Jen are depicted as the 'ideal beauties' and 'love interests' so naturally her entitlement stems from that representation.**

**I guess I'm just saying that Jen and Ben are the same due to their background and Omniverse (and hopefully my little drabble here) are subtly leaning towards a future where they are more self-aware of their privileges and actively work against them.**

**If you want to see what Jen looks like go to my tumblr, via profile page (I'm lumiank). **

**Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and please let me know via review.**


	2. Earning Respect

"Dude," Jen rolled her eyes, "you are seriously giving me a stalker vibe now."

Undertown was new, interesting, and an unexplored world to the mind of Jen Tennyson. Jen had lived in Bellwood all her life and she still couldn't grasp that there was entire city of aliens living in the sewers. It was like out of a cartoon from the 80s, the whole concept was surreal. Many of the smells and objects sold were familiar to Jen (mostly from her grandfather's influence) but it was still new. New and unexplored. Sadly, she wasn't alone in this escapade and Jen was determined to get rid of this interloper.

"I am not stalking you Jen-dude," the violet skinned alien grunted when someone bumped into him.

Jen scoffed attempting to walk faster than her alien stalker, "Could've fooled me Rook, considering you keep walking behind me, not saying a word, and watching over me. Plus, a real creeper wouldn't _say _they're a creeper. They're just creepy!"

Rook sighed and easily caught up with the annoyed human girl. Jen, wanting to be left alone, attempted to navigate through the crowd. Rushing between two large aliens who were about to cross the narrow market place, the human girl took a risk. The large beings nearly blocked the whole pass, to which the she was able to walk through the narrow gap they left when crossing the dirt road. Jen smirked, feeling satisfied that she managed to fool her 'all-to-perfect' partner. Sadly, the human again underestimated the Revvonahgander's prowess and determination. Rook then flexed his spine and legs in a way that maneuvered around the two large beings just before they passed by each other. Jen's jaw nearly dropped when she saw the violet skinned alien standing next to her again.

"_That _doesn't even make sense," Rook placed a hand on Jen's shoulder and finally caught her gaze.

"You don't make sense!" Jen said petulantly. "Why are you here anyway? Since I can't get rid of you."

The two young Plumbers immediately stepped aside, out of the way of the flood of aliens attempting to go about their day. Rook let go of Jen's shoulder and crossed his arms. If there was one word the Revvonnahgander could use to describe his new partner it was stubborn. It took nearly twenty minutes to get this girl to talk to him when Jen finally noticed he followed her to Undertown. Rook knew the situation was awkward, he knew she would feel like he was (as the humans say) her 'babysitter.' Not that such a word made any sense in any context. If anything the word inspired cruelty; and in that respect Rook tried to understand Jen's frustration. Although, given the angry gaze she gave him for not leaving her alone, Rook wasn't sure he was any closer to understanding human emotional cues.

"I was sent by Magister Tennyson. We are to oversee the progress on fixing all the damages in Undertown from our last encounter with Psyphon."

Jen raised a brow and leaned against one of the many clothing stands around, "Psyphon? That was like two or three weeks ago wasn't it? I don't remember there being _that _much damage."

Rook sighed, thankful that she was finally willing to talk to him on equal terms.

"Your grandfather says it is still being worked on. He wants us both to gather reports from the Plumbers stationed at that site," he stated factually.

Jen's face twisted into a frown. She had been really looking forward to exploring Undertown on her own. Now that it was the weekend (and her day off), Plumber duties were the last thing she wanted to do.

"A hero's gotta do what a hero's gotta do," she gave up. "If I go with you, will you finally leave me alone for the rest of the day? No offense, I just was looking forward to some ME-time."

Rook felt like rolling his eyes the way his partner often liked to do, but resisted. If Jen didn't want to offend him she wouldn't have avoided him like the plague only a few moments ago. Truth be told, Rook didn't even know how to answer her question properly. While Magister Tennyson wanted Jen and himself to oversee the construction in Undertown, it wasn't the true purpose for this visit. Magister Tennyson had proven true to his word when he said he was worried about Jen's safety. For the past few weeks Rook had been making excuses to have Jen show him around Bellwood, even though the Revvonnahgander had scoped the town upon his arrival to Earth. It was standard Plumber training to get to know your surroundings. It was required so that you could familiarize yourself with the terrain and gain advantage over an enemy.

To be paired with Jen Tennyson however, Rook had responsibilities he never thought would be required of him. Because of her fame, the young heroine was often the target for many attacks and assassinations on a daily basis. Rook made excuse after excuse to allow her within his company, and almost every instance someone was trying to harm her.

Being shadowed by generals and military sergeants in the academy, Rook understood why Jen wanted to get away from him; at least a few hours. Sadly, that wasn't what Magister Tennyson had in mind for his granddaughter. Jen was a target no matter where she went, thus her freedom was limited.

Much to his shame, Rook _was_ her babysitter. Even if the literal term sent a shudder down his spine.

"If you want me to leave after we've done our job, I will oblige," he gave in.

Jen smiled, satisfied, "Good. So what are we waiting for?"

The human girl gave a wide grin and stood up with her back straight, allowing her partner to lead the way. Rook held back another 'eye roll' at her enthusiasm. She was all too happy to get rid of him. The two walked through Undertown side by side in silence. Rook took in all the surroundings but seeing a small shopping district was nothing new to him. Jen on the other hand, was tempted to stop her partner and look at nearly every booth they passed. Her emerald eyes lit up when there was a vendor performing a side show or a booth of exotic jewelry. Suddenly, the teen grabbed the Revvonnahgander's arm and stopped him to look at one particular booth. Rook raised his brow, staring at the merchandise below and then to Jen's face; wondering why she would take such an interest these certain items. The Kinceleran merchant, or as Jen mentally called him: the XLR8-looking-guy, eyed the girl up and down. Taking notice when her hands brushed over the various colored clothing and jewelry on his stand.

"Oooh, what's this?" the human girl gently picked up a long stick. The object was golden or some kind of metal similar to that, with beautiful alien markings donning all over it's surface. "It looks like a baton."

Just before Jen could twirl the rod, Rook grabbed it from her and gently placed it back on the booth. The Revvonnahgander's gaze met with the merchant's face. The Kinceleran man's eyes narrowed at the young human girl who quickly looked confused, and nervous between the two.

"What?" Jen asked, her eyes wide.

Suddenly a small blue blur dashed past Jen and Rook, and the 'baton' was nowhere to be found. Blinking rapidly, attempting to make sense of what just happened, the teen looked next to her to see a small Kinceleran girl holding the very 'baton' in question.

"Look mommy!" the little alien girl cried. "I found one! This is perfect!"

Before Jen could blink a taller, more feminine Kinceleran appeared behind the little girl. Her gaze at the young alien quickly helped piece together that she was the child's mother. A warm grin donned the mother's face and suddenly the merchant seemed much less upset.

"Alright, here," said the mother, "this is perfect for your special day. How much?"

Before the merchant could reply the Kinceleran mother stared at Jen and then her daughter, "Oh my, aren't you Jen Tennyson?"

"Uh yes!" Jen's eyes perked up. "Yeah that's me."

Suddenly, the little alien girl gave a wide grin, to which Jen returned. As quickly as the smile came, the child then looked at her 'baton' and looked back at the human with newfound excitement, "Are you Arkin as well? Wow!"

"Hm?" replied the girl's mother. "Oh no dear, that's **your **ceremonial Arking staff. Humans don't celebrate the XL festival."

The young girl pouted and pointed at her 'baton', "But **she **was holding it before. Doesn't that mean she's also like us?"

The teen's face twisted into an uneasy frown, unsure of what to say when the girl's mother eyed her warily. Jen's brain took a mental sigh of relief when Rook finally stepped in.

"Please forgive my partner," the Revvonahhgander extended his arms to both the merchant and the child's mother. "It is her first visit in an alien colony. Jen Tennyson is still learning about the different customs of other worlds. It will not happen again."

The mother's face relaxed slightly and nodded to the human girl. Just as the female Kinceleran was buying the artifact for her daughter, Jen quickly turned around and walked away with stiff limbs. Rook immediately followed her, not sure where she was leading him or if the teenage heroine knew where she was going. It wasn't until they turned several corners Rook noticed Jen's muscles relax and her pace slowed.

"Oh man, that was embarrassing," the teen sighed. "Thanks for bailing me out. How did you know about that staff-baton, thingy?"

"Like Humans, Kincelerans have many cultures and religions on their planet. I just happened to have known several from the Plumber's academy who were of the Arkin and Elitan practice," Rook glanced at the confused face of Jen and gently held her shoulder to slow her down and pay attention. "However, the Plumbers provide thousands of books in their library on such matters. It may have been best if you had at least asked what it was before grabbing the item in question."

Jen patted Rook's hand to take it off her shoulder and allowed him to move in front of her. From there he continued to lead the way to their original destination.

The teen frowned, "That XLR8 guy wanted to cut my head off. Trust me, I know what that look looks like. But seriously Rook? Research? Like homework on a weekend? No thanks, the weekend is for fun."

"That man didn't think you touching his artifact was fun, nether did that mother," Rook warned. "What you did was tactless."

The hair on the back of Jen's neck stood up in alarm, "Look, if you're just going to pick on me all day-"

"I'm not 'picking-**on**' you! You are-," the Revvonahgander groaned and rubbed his temple, annoyed at what his partner was saying. "Despite what you prefer to think, this is not about you Jen-dude."

"Dude, no joke, just call me Jen."

Then the rest of the walk was in silence. Jen pouted but it seemed that she was no longer distracted by the many stores and clothing that adorned Undertown's shopping district. If anything she seemed to avoid looking anywhere but straight ahead.

Rook noticed a familiar piece of construction equipment several yards in the distance. Never before had he felt so relieved to get a job done. After spending much time with the teenage heroine, Rook for the most part felt at the end of his rope. He tried being polite, he tried explaining things, even sharing stories, but she never seemed to listen. As far as the Revvonahgander could tell, there were few people Jen truly listened too. Too often the young girl would shut down when someone said she was wrong, and any criticisms were clearly on deaf ears. Sometimes Magister Tennyson would tell Rook that Jen **was** listening to him and respected him greatly, but Rook rarely saw that side of her. As much as Jen wanted to spend the day alone, Rook finally felt the same way. A break was just what he needed. Surely the Tennyson girl could go one afternoon without an assassination attempt?

"Whoa," Jen whistled, breaking him out of his thoughts.

The Revvonnahgander could do little else but agree when they came across the widespread damage at the edge of Undertown. A sharp, long line of destruction trailed near the ceiling of the town through several homes. Jen winced remembering when Psyphon made the muscles in Armordrillo go crazy causing her to destroy quite a lot of the terrain. The muscle spasm she had afterwards hurt like hell for a few days, plus once Psyphon had been captured everything seemed normal afterwards. Never once looking back on how badly the town was decimated. The human girl tried to recall the moment she caused this mess several times, attempting to find someway to blame the third-rate villain-lackey for all of this. Nothing came to mind.

A violent cough brought the young teen out of her thoughts and she turned to see the cause of the noise. Much to her surprise, there was a large group of aliens sitting right outside the construction tape. They had thick dirt covered blankets around their bodies and flattened mattresses scattered around the destruction. The tired eyes of the many aliens rested on the site, never bothering to look towards the famous heroine; not once.

"I had assumed the Plumbers would've finished fixing their homes by now," Rook interjected causing Jen to look at him in the eye.

"Couldn't they just go to a hotel? Or stay at a friend's house?" she asked quietly.

Before the human girl's partner could answer, a loud gruff from a nearby homeless alien interrupted the two. The alien male, who actually had been standing near the two, walked up to the young Plumbers and waved a tentacle in front of their faces dismissively,"If you must know, my _friends' _houses are beneath all that rubble, but yeah, oh, by all means keep talking as if we aren't here."

"I just thought-," Jen tried to explain.

"Do you know how new this city is?" the alien coughed again. "This place is still under construction. Sorry if luxury hotels haven't exactly been built on every street corner yet."

Jen flushed, embarrassed at her own naivety rather than his comment.

"Sorry," she squeaked, "I was just asking."

Rook's gaze leaned towards all the other refugees standing patiently by the wreckage, "Have you all been living outside the construction this whole time?"

"If by that you mean dealing with two grueling weeks of back pains and cheap take-out, then yeah, we've been _living _here," he grunted and pointed towards Jen. "No thanks to this one"

The teen bit her lip and crossed her arms, challenging the alien man's disapproved stare.

"Well, I mean, it's not like I_ wanted_ this to happen!" Rook gently jabbed her in the side to which Jen grunted loudly. "_And_ I'm sorry. I honestly didn't know I'd caused this much damage."

"Ignorance is no excuse for destruction, kid. Just cause you don't know what a gun is doesn't mean you can't kill someone with it," the alien said grimly.

The tentacled being continued to look unconvinced and proceeded to wrap himself more securely with his dirty old blanket. Places like these were all too common, at least that's what the Revvonahgander heard from old soldiers back in the academy. It was difficult to live on a new colonized planet, especially one that had just recently been aware of life on other worlds. Humans were broadcasting news all around the Earth about the existence of aliens, which thankfully allowed Jen some down time. Finally, the Human press felt that alien/human relation politics including working with the Plumbers publicly, should be the main focus to the citizens of this world. Sadly, all these negotiations over where these aliens could live, not to mention dealing with this planet's own problems, left citizens in Undertown with very few rights. It wasn't a side of politics that Rook cared for, but he knew this was a complex situation. An issue that many alien races, including the Plumbers, had originally deemed Earth as not being ready for.

"Perhaps we should see the Plumber official in charge of this site. We will notify you of their progress," Rook stated, ignoring Jen's annoyed glare. "If you will excuse us."

Jen reluctantly followed her partner towards a tall lanky green figure wearing the traditional, stark Plumber armor. Tempted to stick out her tongue towards the grumpy tentacled alien, Jen decided against it. As much as the girl didn't want to admit it, she was wrong and in no position to criticize this guy's complaint. Although, that didn't mean she had to be happy about it, at least in her mind.

"Sir," Rook saluted towards the green Plumber while Jen just waved off handily.

The alien official took a momentary glance away from his key board, about to salute back until he recognized the unusual watch on the Human's wrist.

"Wait, are you Jen Tennyson?" she nodded much to the soldier's glee. "Well, it is an honor to meet you in person."

Jen grinned widely, "Yes, yes it is."

Rook finally decided it was time to roll his eyes.

"Is there, uh, anything I can do for you two?" the green Plumber asked.

Rook closed his eyes and took a deep breathe before responding. Breathing deeply in and out was an exercise Magister Tennyson taught the Revvonahgander not so long ago. It was used to calm people down as he would say, and the Magister often joked that Rook would need to know it when working with Jen. Rook originally thought the older human was kidding. Those were different times.

"Yes," Rook exhaled, "we were wondering why these homes haven't been reconstructed yet."

Suddenly the star struck face of the lanky soldier fell slightly. He rubbed the back of his scaly head, yellow eyes blinking rapidly before forming a reply.

"Right, that. Well, unfortunately many of our construction units were called away. Something about a leak on Luna base. Plus there's a sewage issue. The pipes around here are really banged up, we just got new ones but this has set us back a few days and there aren't enough of us to hook everything up all at once."

Jen rubbed her chin and shook her head, "So the Plumbers need a Plumber? No, too easy."

"But these people have been camping out here for weeks," Rook pushed. "Aren't there temporary shelters on the Earth Plumber base?"

The soldier stared at the violet skinned alien with a helpless look, "Headquarters is tied up with bigger issues, we're stretched thin over there. With the Earthlings harping over where certain species gotta stay or who can or can't become a Plumber-not to mention the hundreds of intergalactic calls we get each day, there's not much I can do. At least until the piping is fixed."

Nodding his head towards the giant drill, Rook and Jen saw that there were only three workers standing around the scum-filled pipes. Many angry and tired alien faces in the crowd of refugees did nothing but stare at the few working men; forced to wait for their homes to be fixed.

Jen started to get angry, "So that's just it. You get to stand around here while these guys watch you do nothing?"

"Hey!" the green Plumber waved his clipboard. "My job is to oversee the progress here, it's not like I can control where the scum of your planet is supposed to go. We're doing the best we can with what we have."

"What about them?" Rook motioned towards the large group of refugees. "Surely some people must be willing and able to work on their homes."

Hearing the superior officer sigh made both young Plumbers frown, "Not that simple. The drilling equipment isn't standard issue, they're taken from old Plumber ship engines not your average construction equipment. That and the amount of workers we have keeps shifting daily. There just aren't enough of us around to train more people."

Jen bit her lip and looked back at the many refugees waiting outside the construction. A part of her remembered that Rook promised to finally leave her alone when they got the the Plumber's report, but the young teen wasn't sure she could. Before she could respond however, Rook walked past the green Plumber towards the mechanized drill used to dig up the old pipes.

"Hey! What's he doing?" the Plumber official asked.

Jen raised a brow, "Uh? Not sure. He's weird like that sometimes."

A loud hiss suddenly echoed throughout underground area, Rook removed a panel from the large drill and began to take apart its wiring. Jen and the green lizard-like Plumber walked up to the young Revvonahgander observing his work, though neither understood what he was doing.

"Rook," the teenage girl started, "what's going on?"

"This model of equipment was once used for old S7-49 ships when exploring a new world. With a few modifications I should be able to double its working speed," the violet alien said factually.

Ignoring the green Plumber's protests, Jen couldn't help but stare at her partner's eyes. They were so focused, so confident in what he was doing. Without knowing exactly how, Jen knew Rook had studied every single wire he held or current he was re-routing. The way his hands moved so languidly over the machine, everything about him working on technology felt natural. Biting her lip yet again, Jen looked back to the alien refugees and then back to her partner wondering what exactly she should do. In her heart Jen knew the answer, but there was a part of her nagging to leave the construction site and continue about her day. She wanted so badly to explore Undertown alone and it would only be a few hours until curfew.

"A hero's gotta do, what a hero's gotta do," the teen gave in. "I _really_ need a better code of conduct."

Taking hold of the Omnitrix Jen sifted through the many aliens available to her on the dial. Not that the Omnitrix was well-known for picking an alien she chose, the teen honestly didn't know which would be best for this kind of job.

"Hmm," suddenly Jen spotted the greymatter symbol and grinned. "Okay Omnitrix! Once, just one time I'm asking you to actually give me the alien I need to save the day."

In her mind, the teen was begging for the watch to not choose Humungasaur. A rare plea on her part. Closing her eyes and pushing down the dial, Jen hoped for the best. A bright green flash spilled into her eyes, covering her body and harmlessly transforming her DNA.

"Please be greymatter, please be greymatter," the teen kept repeating until the flash of light died down.

"Please be greymatter, please be greymatter," Jen's voice changed to a grated high pitched tone. At first, when opening her eyes and noticing how low she was to the ground, Jen thought it worked. That is, until she saw her bright red hands.

"Juryrigg!?" she screeched. "You hate me Omnitrix, is that it? This is punishment for that cheese incident right?"

Suddenly the familiar instincts of this alien took over. Juryrigg was difficult to control for this reason, but luckily Jen was still sane enough within this alien form to remember what she wanted to do. Before anyone could protest, Juryrigg hopped over to the pile of damaged pipes and began tearing them out of the ground. Even Rook had to duck his head as one pipe nearly hit him in the face. Before he could scold her however, he noticed that Juryrigg was installing all the new pipes at an incredibly fast rate.

"What?" cried the green Plumber. "How is she doing that?"

Rook narrowed his eyes, but smiled at the scene, "Come on, the drill is ready and we have work to do."

"We?" the lizard-guy asked.

Rook proceeded to operate the large drill, digging beneath the dirt to expose the old network of pipes. Once a new pipe was exposed Juryrigg managed to replace and install a new went on for nearly an hour, both partners pushing themselves and their equipment to the brink. She even cleared out the sludge and tore apart many of the already damaged homes. At first the citizens were devastated to see their houses gone again, until they saw the Revvonahgander pick up a neglected pile of paper. Showing each schematic to Juryrigg (who was silently hoping she would last longer in this form) who nodded vigorously. Juryrigg was difficult to control, but Jen was determined to do this right. She memorized and studies each plan Rook laid out for her. Each plan of almost every home that was destroyed. Juryrigg, who was very impatient, immediately began getting to work.

As far as the bystanders outside the construction site could see their homes were being rebuilt. It was like watching a stop-motion movie where clay appeared to grow on top of the surface building it up to a finished product. Wood and metal boards were built on top of each other to create their homes, but before the refugees could get their hopes up a familiar beeping noise echoed throughout the room. Suddenly nails, hammers, and wrenches all piled to the ground out of the hands of where Juryrigg once stood.

"Oh come on!" Jen wined. "I just finished all the bathrooms!"

Looking over her handy work, the teen hero couldn't help but smile. Most of the homes, if not all, had been rebuilt save for a few roofs and some drywall here and there. Suffice to say, she did more than she realized. In the back of her mind though, Jen was just grateful Juryrigg didn't turn the houses into rocket ships. Rook then walked up to his partner putting her back into reality. He was carrying one of many building plans in his hand and stated, "It's fine. We can work by hand from here."

"Or I could try the Omnitrix again?" the teen grinned while sifting through the many aliens in her watch.

"And what if you get Heatblast?" the Revvonahgander said slyly.

Jen froze at his words, then grimaced. The teen bent over to pick up one of the many hammers she held before, "So where can I use this?"

"Are you absolutely sure you want to stay? This type of work may take a long time to finish," Rook teased.

Jen smirked, picking up on her partner's narrowed gaze, "Like you could do a job without me newbie. Come on, what's next?"

Suddenly the teen saw the three workers sitting by the drill with jaws dropped and eyes wide at the amount of progress already made. Rook noticed Jen using that 'eye roll' technique she often liked to do and yelled towards the group of men, "Hey! Show's over guys, you got legit work to do now!"

Immediately the workers jumped up from their spots and ran towards the two.

Both partners laughed at the awkward scene, but immediately went back to the task at hand. Rook gathered the three workers around and laid one of many of the plans for the damaged homes. Eventually they all came to an agreement of how they wanted finish building the town. Tempted to use the Omnitrix a few times, Jen decided against it whenever her partner looked in her direction. Thankfully Rook stayed with her the whole time handing over the right tools and even showing her how to use some of them. Much to Jen's annoyance she really didn't know how to do most of the work, feeling like an idiot every time Rook had to come over and help.

"Umm?" the teen mumbled uncertainly after she finished putting shingles on a roof.

"Do you need assistance Jen?" called out her partner working on the nearby home.

Jen sighed in frustration, "It's not like they teach us how to build houses in school! This is crazy boring."

"So you're fine on your own then?" he called out with a small smile on his face.

The teen noticed her partner's grin and slid down the ladder from the roof, "Don't look so smug just cause you know what you're, you know, doing."

"Knowing when to use a sydrolin wrench can be very useful in many situations," he handed her the odd looking tool. "Do you need help?"

Jen pouted once Rook slipped a small grin.

"See! You're doing it again!"

"I was merely offering my assistance," her partner shrugged with a smile.

The teen laughed, "Jerk."

Suddenly a cough from one of the workers brought the two back into reality. Jen quickly composed herself and held out the odd looking wrench towards Rook.

"Fine, so uh, show me how this works again?"

It didn't take long for the small team to finish their work. Juryrigg had nearly finished all the homes before hand, everything else felt like icing on the cake. Jen was annoyed at first to let Rook show her how to handle and use all the tools available. Seeing her partner work, and not during a hostile environment, was a rare occurrence. Usually Jen was too busy dealing with bad guys to really watch how Rook worked, but there was something about him today that was different. He seemed more at ease, more playful while speaking. She actually found herself having a conversation with him rather than just talking _to_ him.

Speaking of the devil, Rook's movement broke Jen out of her thoughts as he step back to oversee their work. Amusingly the teen remembered an old saying that 'Rome was never built in a day' and grinned at how the Romans clearly never met Juryrigg or Rook. Their loss. The workers and the Plumber official took down the construction tape and started letting people inside their new homes after inspecting them. Jen and Rook stepped aside,behind the crowd of aliens, just staring at the scene. Dust, dirt, drywall, and paint covered the teen's arms and coated her pants. It was going to be a nightmare salvaging her clothes (if she even could), but once she saw Rook's tired gaze and painted hands the selfish thought left her mind.

"You know, I've seen you work on your car-ship thing before, but when did you learn to build houses?" she asked. "I mean, unless that's some new survival training in the academy."

Rook made a low noise in his throat to which Jen interpreted as a stiff laugh, "Back on Revvonah I volunteered to build homes for the colonies starting out in our community before joining the Plumbers. At that time however, there were plenty of workers there to train us."

"That's just-wow. But wait," Jen held up a hand, "you _volunteered_ to build shelters? And you know how to fix space cars? And you can fight like a ninja?"

Before her partner could answer, Jen began eyeing him up and down. She even leaned in close to stare at his proto-armor chest plate and wrist cuffs. Rook knew humans had thousands of customs and the one Jen belonged to was one of the strangest he ever encountered. He honestly had no idea what was happening.

"What are you doing?" he asked skeptically.

Jen pouted, "Trying to find the flaws. It's like they don't exist in you."

The Revvonahgander was about to reply until he noticed a small group of refugees walk up behind Jen. A familiar tentacle hand slipped on top of the Human girl's shoulder causing her to shudder before greeting him.

"Oh it's you," Jen said flatly.

Before the tentacled alien could reply, another next to him stood out, "We just wanted to thank you; thank you both for re-building our homes."

Rook nodded, "There is no need for that, we were just doing our job."

"Yeah, all in a days work for a super hero," Jen grinned proudly. "You can just hold the applause till after you're settled in."

"Or you can just take our thanks and leave it at that," said the tentacled alien from before.

The human girl raised a brow, "Dude, chill, you're taking me way too seriously right now."

"It's you who doesn't take _yourself_ seriously. We've been without power and shelter for weeks because of your mess-don't you forget that."

Jen huffed, "Hey, what the heck is your problem with me? I just re-built your homes."

Another alien gently held back one of the tentacled man's arms and pleaded, "Please friend, it's Jen Tennyson, she saves worlds all of the time. Surely she was just being facetious. You know how Humans around here can be."

"That isn't the point. Acting like the galaxy owes you something for every little thing you do is idiotic and I'm not going to be made the bad guy by someone who doesn't care about who she hurts!" he pushed against his friend. "Yeah you saved us Tennyson, you've probably saved a lot of peoplebut you want more, don't you?"

"I don't _want _more," she glared, "I mean, I want to help others so I do, that's that. Showing gratitude is just common courtesy you know!"

Rook stood between the two arguing, unsure of how to intervene or whether he should. There were times like this where Jen acted like a child, but very few words ever got through to her. For the first time and for as long as he knew her, Jen was desperate. She was losing.

"Let me tell you something kid," the tentacled alien leaned in. "no one is obligated to give you thanks, not everyone has to like you. You may have helped us now, but what of your other escapades? The other stores you've infamously destroyed have sent many people in debt or homeless."

Jen twisted her face into a frown, "Blame the villains who keep attacking your friends, not me. It's not like_ I _went out to destroy your homes, _they're _the ones to blame. **I **am fighting _them_, stopping them, and it's all worked for me before."

Much to her surprise another alien in the group interjected, "Then you need to consider what works out for _me_, for those you've saved. By doing nothing about your own destruction is just as bad as these 'villains' destroying our communities."

"I suggest locking in a few hours in training wouldn't hurt," the tentacled alien motioned towards Rook. "At least not everyone isn't so inconsiderate. So thank _you_ kid, at least someone's trying around here."

Jen and Rook stood in silence for a few moments, unsure of how to process everything that was just thrown at them. Immediately the tentacled alien and his group of friends walked away, towards their rebuilt homes. The Revvonnahgander knew his partner was a very self-involved person, but usually there was some kind of rebuttal, some kind of fight she'd put up to prove otherwise. Here he noticed her face was oddly calm, but quiet. Her hands clenched into tight fists, knuckles turning paler than her skin already was. Rook wanted to say something, he really did, but it was difficult to find words of comfort for someone who needed this kind of wake up call.

With a small 'thump,' the Human teen sat on the ground with her legs crossed. Rook for a moment wondered if she even wanter him around, but before he could ask the teen spoke up.

"So, does somehow logging in a few hours in the gym make you better hero? Or, ugh, studying?" Jen shrugged. "I've been on the field for years now, why should I even train? Everyday is training! Everyday someone is trying to kill me, isn't that enough?"

Rook stared at his partner for a moment and soon enough sat down next to her. His long legs stretched out on the dirt and back resting against a nearby neglected sign.

"Well," he started, "apparently not. I could always help you with your training."

Jen smiled but did not look at him in the eye, "Nah, you're my partner not my tutor. Studying, training, that stuffs gonna have to get done on my own time. Plumber time."

"And today?" Rook asked.

"Today is my day off. While that guy was right about how I work, ugh, I guess, I just feel like I _need _this day, you know?" Jen finally looked at him. "Like I need to just think about all this and make a plan or something. My brain's had enough for today."

Rook leaned back against the downed sign, not saying a word. His limbs were tired and heavy from all the lifting and re-wiring he had to do today. For all the work and all of his training the Revvonnahgander was tired. It had been an exhausting day both mentally and physically. While his time with Jen at the construction site had actually been more pleasant than he anticipated it would be, Rook just wanted to rest.

"I can understand that," the Revvonnahgander sighed and stood up. Stretching the muscles in his back. "It is getting late, perhaps I should go deliver our report to the Plumbers."

"Wait!" cried Jen who immediately stood up much to his surprise.

The flushed look on his partner's face and sweat on her brow showed how exhausted the girl was, but her eyes were key to how she truly felt. Her eyes now bright and filled with renewed energy, asking him something he didn't quite understand.

"Wait," she repeated in a calmer tone, "do you have to go right away? I mean, we could just hang out a little more, right? Despite that lecture of the century, today was kind of cool. You and I talking about stuff. Plus, I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Jen held her growling midsection with a small grin and laughed a little. Rook stared at his partner with a perplexed expression for a few moments. For some reason, his gaze made Jen feel quite uncomfortable considering how often she kept shifting her eyes and rubbing her arms. After the shock of her words wore off, Rook shrugged with a smile.

"Eating sounds nice," he replied.

"Great!" a light suddenly flashed in Jen's big green eyes. "Let's eat!"

Rook grinned, "Afterwards we can talk to Driba and Blukic about altering the training simulator for your different aliens."

Jen smiled and rolled her eyes, "Some friend you are! Somehow I knew you weren't going to just let this 'training thing' go."

Both friends laughed and walked away from the construction. The few Plumbers stationed there began taking down and removing each equipment from the area. Despite the loud noises and paint that stained Jen and Rook's bodies, the two immediately became lost in their own world. Both partners felt at ease with each other. Their conversation today was so much less one-sided than ever before, and Rook for the first time started to feel welcome within Jen's company. It had been assumed within the young Revvonnahgander's lifetime that saying the bad things, admitting ones' flaws out loud could bring people closer together.

For the first time, Jen actually called Rook her friend and he finally felt the same way.

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**Chapter 2, hope you liked it.**

**Like before, I don't know if I'll continue this, so please review if you want more.**

**A possible idea for the next chapter would be about Rook's reaction to Ester's (who may or may not be changed into a guy) flirting. **

**The themes in this particular chapter were difficult to write. I'm still not even sure I handled Jen's entitlement to the best of my abilities. Please let me know if I sided too much with Jen on certain matters, or if I didn't address these themes well enough (and why). I want to get better as a writer, but I worry about what I am conveying to you readers much more.**

**Please read and review! If you want to see what Jen looks like you can visit my tumblr via profile.**


	3. Unclear Motives

**This takes place directly after Hot Stretch at the end of the episode. Ester is now Aster (male), for other genderbent characters in this universe you can read the message at the end of this chapter. **

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The humidity felt constricting like a boa permanently around their necks. Rook continued to drink lemonade at cheap ply wood stand constructed by one of the small alien children living in the neighborhood. Usually such climate wouldn't have bothered the Revonnahgander, but today had been a particularly draining experience.

"Aster's not my boyfriend!" Jen yelled to her exhausted partner. "I mean he and I are-wait? You think I have a shot with him?"

Despite sly look the human teen gave him, Rook still couldn't understand the question.

"What?" he replied.

Twisting her face into a frown the Revonnahgander guessed that he upset his partner. Reaching over for another glass of lemonade on the stand behind him, Rook ignored Jen's lingering gaze. He was in no mood to argue. Today had been one of the most exhausting, frustrating, and hottest days he'd ever experienced. Fighting several Krahoo warriors near a river of lava was difficult to do by himself, but as usual the 'great' Jen Tennyson saved the day. Not without consequences on his part though. Muscles ached in places Rook hadn't realized they could, and all he wanted to do was rest after such an exhausting battle. However, being partnered with the 'great' Jen Tennyson guaranteed no peace after a mission.

"Come on," Jen wined, "you know? 'A shot with him?' Like, you think he _liked_ me in a more than friends way?"

Rook exhaled loudly after finishing another glass of lemonade. He answered with a bitter taste in his mouth, "Yes, the new leader of the Krahoo seemed particularly interested in you today. Your 'shot' with him however, was misdirected."

The teen raised a brow, "What are you talking about? It's not like I won't see him again. Maybe we could pick up where he left off?"

"**That** is the problem. You **will **see him again because you couldn't turn him in. It is _our _job to detain all criminals no matter the circumstance," the Revonnahgander gave a tired glare.

For a moment Rook thought he had gotten through to his partner, after all, Jen was in a rare moment of silence before responding. Her face scrunched up into a pensive frown, arms crossed and gaze averted. This was an expression Rook had become familiar with, knowing that his partner was in deep thought.

"I don't believe this," she grinned facing him again. "You're jealous of Aster, aren't you?"

Rook nearly coughed up his last drink of lemonade. Orange eyes wide with his mouth slightly agape over what his partner implied. Surely this was another Tennyson/Earth joke, but it certainly came out of nowhere to him. Quickly composing himself as to not let his partner see how easily she got to him, Rook kept the muscles on his face tightened to a neutral expression.

"I mean," the girl started, "I was wondering why you brought up Aster's flirting when we chased him to Undertown, but now it makes sense. Why the sudden interest in my love life partner?"

Jen them gave him a sly look he was unfamiliar with. A look that made him nearly choke on his drink again.

"I have no interest in your 'living with love'," Rook coughed. "You are changing the subject to avoid blame."

Jen laughed at this and leaned against the empty lemonade stand, "Okay Mister, if we're talking about avoiding blame you're the one who keeps changing the subject. Seriously, why is it any of your business who I choose to date?"

"It isn't," Rook argued while putting his cup down. "I have made no such claims. Aster is a criminal, we were supposed to detain him and you let him get away. That is not what a _hero_ does."

"Well maybe this hero likes bad boys," the teen huffed and crossed her arms. "Besides, Aster's the leader of the Krahoo now, not a bad job title for an ex-con. It could work out."

The Revonnahgander clenched the edges of the lemonade stand somewhat aware of the amount of pressure he applied to the weak ply wood. It was like the two were speaking different languages sometimes; Jen didn't seem to process what he was saying. Rook's muscles continued to ache under the strain he put on his hands that tightly gripped the stand behind him. Knuckles from violet blue became nearly as pale as Jen's skin. It took a lot of strength for Rook to not visibly show his annoyance to Jen. He has been taught in the academy the importance of keeping one's composure at all times.

However, nothing in his Plumber education could have prepared him for Jen Tennyson.

"You would pardon any criminal who showed an interest in you," Rook grumbled.

"Excuse me?" Jen looked taken aback. "Did you just call me shallow?"

Rook faced her, "If the word 'shallow' means that you would take someone else's side simply because they catered to your very being, then yes you are this 'shallow.'"

Much to his surprise Jen raised her hand and smacked the lemonade stand. The weak ply wood rattled under her palm, though Rook's tight grip managed to keep it from moving very far. Jen's action reminded Rook of the young children he saw in Bellwood who would shout and bang the walls if their parental figures didn't adhere to their whims. Truth be told, many of the children of Bellwood reminded him of Jen. Rook's gaze didn't falter beneath his partner's glare. There was only so much threat in the eyes of a small sixteen year old human, even if she did posses the Omnitrix.

"I dedicate MY free time to helping people, no one told me to that," Jen argued never leaving her partner's gaze. "You did a lot today, I'll concede to that, but I clinched the deal. I saved the day. Everything worked out because of me!"

Rook finally stood up from the lemonade stand, back straight. At his full height Rook towered over Jen being at least two heads taller than the young girl, but despite this advantage the Revonnahgander was far too tired and angry to let this go.

"Look at your town," Rook stomped his feet on the cooled lava covered ground. "Moments ago there was molten lava here, unforeseen damage. The Plumbers as we speak are tending to_ your _injured human population. If you had spent less time playing games we could have prevented this. We could have prevented their injuries, their suffering, but no, you wanted to 'chill' instead."

Jen's glare faltered slightly at his words. The human teen bit the inside of her cheek as if preventing herself from cursing. Rook however, would not let her speak.

"Because you allowed yourself to be distracted from your duties, _they_ paid the price," The Revonnahgander's voice calmed slightly.

With each word Rook found it more difficult to breathe. The humidity was really starting to get to him, making his limbs feel heavier and burning. No doubt Jen didn't feel this pain, her brow had a thin sheet of sweat on it, but otherwise she was not visibly tired. For a moment Rook envied his partner's cooler stature; her limbs relaxed even when he continued to stare her down.

Jen finally moved and turned away from him, walking towards his lava damaged car in silence.

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It was a long, tense drive back to the Plumber base.

At the very least Rook could take from this experience was that he finally understood the human emotional cues for anger. Jen's body was completely turned away from his, not even looking back through the reflection of the window. Brow wrinkled, mouth tight, and her neck muscles were consistently tense as if she were about to yell at him. Most unusual was that Rook often found his partner had a bad habit of staring at him when she thought he wasn't looking, but this time around her eyes never once averted in his direction. The Revonnagander sighed, knowing that he meant every word he said. Purposely keeping his body stiff and focused on the road during the whole drive back. Rook would not let Jen win this time, he was not wrong about this; that much was certain.

Like the human children Rook had seen cry and scream in the stores of Bellwood, his partner needed to calm down.

Frankly, they both did.

The moment Rook stopped the car near the many Plumber vehicles in the parking garage, Jen stormed out.

"Hey there Kiddo," Max waved towards his granddaughter while standing by a pillar in the garage. "How'd the mission go?"

Much to his surprise, Jen walked right past her grandfather giving him a quick glance.

"Going to get some air, Grandpa. I may be out for a while," she said shortly.

Rook stepped out of his car and muttered something under his breathe loud enough for Jen to hear. Immediately the teen stopped in her tracks and finally looked at him for the first time in the last half hour. His partner had an unusual glare etched on her face, perhaps it wasn't really a glare at all though. Jen's bright green eyes glistened and moved in ways that Rook could not begin to read. Human emotional cues were still a mystery to him, and anger was the only one he was confident in identifying with Jen.

This however, was something he had never seen from her before.

Unfortunately, the teen turned around and continued to walk away towards the elevator at the end of the garage. The Revonnahgander twisted his mouth downwards and walked stiffly towards the back of his truck. Opening the doors from behind his vehicle, Rook picked up a red tool box and proceeded to set aside the equipment needed to scrape off the many dried chunks of lava stuck on his car. He did not look at her, he resisted showing emotion while she was around, and tried to concentrate on the tools before him.

Footsteps echoed in the near empty garage. The Revonnahgander didn't need to look behind him to know who was approaching him.

"Trouble in paradise son?" Max Tennyson teased.

"With all due respect Magister Tennyson, I don't understand how your granddaughter can just go through life thinking she can get away with everything," Rook huffed while grabbing the tools he needed.

Max sighed and leaned against one of the open doors of the truck.

"Yeah, well, I got the impression that things didn't go too well when I heard the town square was flooded with molten lava," he conceded thoughtfully. "Reminds me of when she was a kid, unfortunately. Looks like Jen still hasn't grown out of that mindset."

Rook walked around the older male and crouched near the rear left tire of his truck. Setting his tools on the ground, he kept one in hand and began to scrape off the dried lava chunks still stuck inside the truck's rims.

"I noticed," Rook replied stiffly.

Max shifted his stance, "I blame myself sometimes. I was never there all that much for my own kids, and Jen's father isn't the most disciplinary figure because of that. Often letting her out of punishments before she finishes them, and then cleaning her messes. Jenny's never been one to take authority seriously, though that hardly excuses her actions or lack-there-of."

Rook took off two large chucks of dried lava stuck to his car. A puddle of black grain scattered around his boots, staining the blue hue of his armor.

Rook Grunted while trying to scrape off a difficult piece of lava stuck to the rims, "You should not blame yourself, Magister Tennyson. From what I have read of her file even Magister Hulka couldn't get Jen to follow orders."

"Hmm, Plumber life isn't for everyone," Max crouched beside the young blue alien and proceeded to help him clear bits of dried lava. "Unfortunately, Jen learned at an early age that just because someone spits orders and insults at you doesn't mean they're always right. Hulka is a good soldier, but he doesn't teach by example. Experience has always been her best teacher."

"Is that why she has the Omnitrix?" Rook glanced at the older human in question. "Because you gave her the experience necessary to wield it?"

Max chuckled under his breath as he reached over to grab one of the tools by the young Plumber.

"It wasn't really a choice even on my part, Rook. Not at first any way," the older Tennyson male muttered forlornly. "Kid was only ten when people were trying to cut her arm off. Most children would need therapy after an experience like that, but Jenny stood her ground. Azmuth never wanted her to have the Omnitrix, but we both saw she was one of the few strong enough to handle everything that came with it."

Rook pursed his lips and frowned. He stopped scraping the dried soot off of his car and focused his attention on the Magister next to him.

"I'm not excusing her behavior," Max assured, "but the kid has had an unusual life. She can stand being shot at or having a knife to her neck, but not when people she cares about criticize her. Jen is a very emotional person, but often stuck in her own world."

The Revonnahgander look confused, "But then aren't you excusing her behavior by allowing her to act this way?"

"You gotta a point there," Max sighed in defeat. "She's my granddaughter, Rook, and I love her. It's hard for me to yell at Jen, but I understand that you couldn't let that behavior slide. Why do you think I'm not rushing to her, comforting my little girl? I know Jen needs this even if it's hard for me."

A much larger pile of the black soot poured near their feet. The gray tiles of the garage were stained and smeared with the stuff. Rook barley moved; now that he was sitting, the entire day finally crashed on his body. His muscles still ached and despite having many glasses of lemonade his throat was still dry and sticky. Everyone had heard of the great Jen Tennyson and her heroics at such a young age, sadly seeing the girl in action as a teenager didn't always live up to the legends. Rook knew that he could never begin to comprehend Jen's life. Surviving and being scared of assassins at such a young age sounded so baffling to him that it was nearly inconceivable.

Rook then forced his arms to move and help the Magister continue to clean his truck.

"The Omnitrix," the blue alien muttered, "it makes her feel immortal and cause for reckless behavior. I am sorry Magister Tennyson, but I just cannot grasp how she thinks. She treats death and injury like a game. Perhaps it may be too early for her to be in the field."

Max chuckled much to Rook's surprise; his comment was not meant to be funny.

"Good luck with that," the older human grinned. "Convincing Jen to give up the Omnitrix once was hard enough, but she's in it too deep now."

Max coughed a little from the soot but continued to chuckle, "I know being partnered with Jen isn't the easiest thing in the world, believe me I know, but she does listen to you. That's something I've almost never seen her do with her cousin or myself. Even noticed you two have been training more together. Getting your skills sharpened."

"It's for her own survival," Rook muttered while ripping out a large chunk of dried lava under the vehicle, "she is a liability otherwise."

"Yes, but you got her to do it," the older human praised. "I'm amazed."

Nearly all the all the dirt and grime was off the truck revealing the pristine metal beneath. Rook almost smiled at the sight, proud at how sturdy his vehicle was. Even molten lava couldn't destroy its surface but the reflection of his face on the metal revealed his lack of joy. Sitting here, surrounded by a pile of dried soot only reminded the Revonnahgander of what he could have prevented today. Those on Earth who could not simply scrape the lava off and had to live with its destruction.

"Jen is getting better, but the true issue stems from that she had to be_ told_ to train," Rook argued. "Every time we work together it is because _I _had to remind her it was important. Jen cannot see this on her own."

Max closed his mouth and stared at the young alien thoughtfully. Tools gripped tightly in their hands, Rook did not even feel the sharp metal dig into his flesh.

"I am sorry Magister Tennyson," the Revonnahgander began, "but someone like Jen who needs to be told or pushed into helping others doesn't sound like a workable partnership to me. It is my job to protect the weak and not be, as you say, a babysitter."

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It had taken hours to completely fix his truck, but with Magister Tennyson around the work load was much less daunting. Being a Plumber was never an easy job. Rven after a long exhausting mission Rook still had to file a report for the day, and continue to research the mysterious enemy who was hunting Jen. Thankfully, the Plumber's library was vast and full of works collected from various worlds, although it was frustrating that he was there alone. It was Jen's enemy he was after but the Revonnahgander hadn't seen young girl all day. If he had to guess, the human teen was probably sitting at home resting with her family.

As much as Rook wanted to just lie down in bed and forget about the day as well, he knew his duty and understood that whoever was trying to kill his partner was a serious threat to many people. It wasn't fair to the future victims of this criminal's actions if Rook didn't dedicate his free time to finding out where he'd strike next.

Eyes blurry and unfocused as he scanned the shelves of books in front of him. The librarian had directed him to the resource section in the back, but the text he needed was no where to be found. Grunting in frustration, Rook rubbed his eyes trying to see if he could wake himself up a bit more. The dust around each data pad and book didn't help his eye sight any better. He was in an older section of the library, and even here Rook wasn't sure if he would find anything of value. The criminal responsible for the attacks on Jen was very good at covering his tracks. There was little to no trace of the transforming dog-alien when it left, and he had no idea where it came from.

Suddenly a small breathy noise broke the blue alien out of his thoughts.

A sniffle and a few grumbling words followed later which caused Rook to arch his brow. There was something familiar about the sound, which peaked his interest to investigate. Heading towards the end of the reference section Rook found an open area with many empty tables save for one. Rubbing his eyes again the Revonnahgander couldn't believe what he was seeing. Jen Tennyson sat at the farthest corner with various books open with a notebook and pen in hand. Her face resembling that pensive look she had when in deep thought, though her brow wrinkled as if she were angry at him like before.

Standing there confused, Rook didn't quite understand what she was doing. It was almost as if she were studying, not that he'd ever caught her doing such a thing before. For a moment the blue alien wondered if he should approach her given their fight earlier today, but before he could make that decision Jen looked in his direction with a blank stare.

"Hey, do you know what a Garleve is?" she asked so nonchalantly.

Rook looked taken aback for a moment, completely caught off guard at her relaxed gaze, "You mean the species indigenous to the planet Rolan 4?"

"Yeah," she tilted her head. "Like, does it transform or-what?"

"Not that I am aware of."

Jen sighed in frustration and loudly closed the book she was holding, plopping it in the large pile of texts next to her.

"Well that was a waste of time," she shrugged.

Rook narrowed his gaze and studied his partner's stance warily. There was something different about her demeanor and presence. Jen's clothes were disheveled and pants ripped apart at the bottom of the seams. Even her arms which she proudly kept bare were covered in dust and scratches that weren't there earlier in the day. Jen picked up another book out of the pile and carefully studied the cover before opening it.

"I thought you went home," Rook stated warily while taking small cautious steps closer to his partner.

Jen shrugged refusing to look up at him from her book, "Haven't been home all day, dude. Thought _you_ went to bed."

"I was fixing my-where have you been?" the blue alien blurted suddenly when he was close enough to see the scorch marks on her pants and shirt.

"Hm?" Jen looked at him, then her clothes. "I was, uh, helping clear out the dried lava above ground. Then Driba and Blukic decided they needed my help with a new simulator in the training room."

The human teen absentmindedly rubbed a large scratch on her right cheek, "It didn't end too well."

Rook stared at his partner with wide eyes, struggling to keep his mouth closed and somewhat suspicious. Various emotions ran through him causing the blue alien to be at a loss for words.

Jen finally looked at him in the eye with a small tired smile and guilt in her eyes, "There was, uh, a lot more damage than I thought up there. People were hurt."

The last sentence she said felt foreign on her tongue, as if the mere concept was unheard of. Rook bit the inside of his cheek finally realizing that Jen had probably seen the injured humans while she was up there. It wasn't a pretty sight to work ground control after a disaster, something that Rook was grateful his job didn't always include such a somber duty. Green tired eyes gazed at the book on her lap. Jen was exhausted with an expression that mirrored his after fighting numerous Krahoo in the Hot Spot.

"I know Aster is still at large, but I honestly think he's going to do good now," she began suddenly. "I'm not saying I made the best decisions today, but I am going to stand by it. And, um, oh, don't make me say it."

Rook blinked, "Say what?"

Jen rolled her eyes, "You know, _it."_

The Revonnahgander shook his head in confusion, mind clouded unable to process what she was asking him not to do.

"You are not making any sense," he replied honestly.

Jen let out a sigh of relief, "Good, let's keep it that way."

Rook resisted rolling his own eyes at his partner's silly behavior. Quickly his gaze fell on the pile of books Jen had beside her. Noticing this, Jen motioned for him to sit next to her and handed him a book. Rook cautiously took the text from her unsure how to process what she was doing. Something felt incomplete, as if the two had forgotten about their fight earlier today. For a moment Rook considered Jen's behavior a part of Earth culture. Perhaps an apology, but he couldn't be sure. Many things confused him about this strange world, and Jen was the strangest he'd ever encountered. Opening the book before him, the Revonnahgander realized he had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for and stared at his partner in confusion.

"I got a theory," Jen grinned, "about that thing that's trying to kill me. Wanna hear it?"

"Is that what this is all about?" Rook gestured to the pile on books sitting on the table.

The teen chuckled at him, "Duh. See, I think maybe it's a hologram. Like maybe that's how it appears to transform into all those different aliens. Got some books here about the tech, but uh, I don't really know much about what's inside a holo generator."

Rook bit his lip and stared at her thoughtfully, "Holograms can be solid, but they don't work well in daylight. That creature has always attacked you out in the open. I doubt such a device could have maintained its form in the middle of the day."

Jen's face faltered, "Seriously? Shooting me down before I even gotta chance huh? Great, so what have I even been doing for the past two hours?"

The teen held up her notebook in exacerbation with scribbled foreign letters on various pages. Rook stared amazed even as his partner laid her head on the table wining in defeat. It wasn't a bad theory, in any case, but just a little impractical. The Revonnahgander gently asked to see Jen's notebook and took out his Proto-tool to help translate the Earth text.

"This is quite interesting," he commented causing Jen to look up from the table. "Maybe the holorgram theory will not work, but perhaps we can use these notes on the different creatures it has transformed into to our advantage."

The human teen sat up and gave him an incredulous stare.

"What do you mean?"

Rook's gaze never left her notebook, "Well, given what you have written here, we may be able to implement the specs of each alien into the training room. It may not bring us closer to finding your attacker, but it could prepare us for his next appearance."

Jen's eyes brightening at her brilliant partner, grin spread wide across her face, "Rook, don't take this the wrong way but I could kiss you right now. Let's go ask Blukic and Driba to put that data stuff in the training room!"

The Revonnahgander marveled at his partner's energy after such a long day. Gathering a few of the books piled upon their table, Rook shook his head at her.

"You actually wish to train? Voluntarily?" he questioned.

Jen shrugged, "Well, maybe not _now_. Already hit up the gym earlier today and I need a shower big time, but at least we can get it prepared for tomorrow. How's 12:30 sound?"

Rook gave her a flat gaze to which she grinned sheepishly, "Okay okay, 10:30? But that's my final offer. Sheesh!"

It was surreal like a dream. If it wasn't for his aching muscles Rook would have thought he was dreaming of this moment. Staring at her face, the Revonnahgander finally saw something familiar in her expression. Her eyes were relaxed as were the muscles on her face. Fingers lingering loosely around a disregarded book, no signs of stress other than her scratched up clothes and arms. Jen felt relaxed around him, and suddenly he understood. Not every apology, even on Revonnah was explicitly about saying you were sorry.

Rook had stood his ground when Jen insisted she was right, but here she was doing the things he had accused her of neglecting. At best, Rook expected his partner to just train in the gym for a few hours but instead she decided to try and fix her mistakes. In a round about way, the Revonnahgander saw that Jen was admitting she was wrong without explicitly saying it. Jen's culture was very strange with difficult and confusing customs, that would not change. However, Rook could not help but smile at his partner's new found attitude and relented.

"I will be there."

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It'd been ages since she'd drove her car last. For several weeks Jen Tennyson was used to her partner picking her up and driving them to the base, whether it was to train or go on a mission. Today however, the teen had gotten a weird text from her grandfather asking to meet in his kitchen as soon as she could. Yawning, Jen grumbled under her breathe, upset that she had to get out of bed so early on a Saturday. It was a draining week and all she wanted to do was sleep in and forget about it. Especially since she'd nearly lost such a precious commodity.

In the corner of her eye, Jen glanced at the tattered white hoodie in the passengers seat. Sure it was damaged goods after the fight against Khyber, but Jen couldn't bring herself to part with it. It was a miracle that the Plumbers managed to retrieve it from the wreckage at all, but that was her good luck hoodie for you. It was the one piece of evidence the teen had to remember the day she re-created the universe.

A small souvenir, but a comfortable one as well.

It had been three days since she and Rook escaped Khyber's ship. The entire ordeal was scary enough, but what was more troubling was not hearing from her partner in that while. Jen took a deep breathe and tried to calm her mind. It was silly to think that she was worried about Rook, after all it's only been a few days, but Jen was starting to get used to having him nearby. It hurt not to be around Kevin or Gwen to hang out with. Without them, Bellwood was a lonely place and Rook's presence often made her forget this.

"Come on, what are you doing?" she said to herself in disappointment. "Rook's fine, just chill, you can live without him."

Finally Jen pulled up to the fake hardware store and parked her car. Debating for a moment whether to bring in her hoodie, the teen then chose to take the tattered clothing. Silently hoping her grandfather could fix it up. Tossing the hoodie over her shoulder, Jen walked inside the shop and proceeded down the secret elevator in the back.

The bright green lights and color scheme of the Plumber base was always shocking to greet. Somewhere Jen once heard that green was a calming color, but rarely did she find that to be true given it was the same color of the flash her Omnitrix made when she needed to transform. Once the elevator stopped the teen ran through the base, towards her grandfather's private kitchen. Whatever he wanted to talk to her about seemed important and knowing her family it was probably big news.

"Sup grandpa!" Jen greeted when she finally reached the kitchen. "Needed to see me?"

Grandpa Max stood near the cutting board on the far counter, dicing some unknown alien vegetable. Turning around to face her, the old man's face twisted in confusion as he pointed towards the torn hoodie on her shoulder knife in hand.

"Jen what do you have there?" he asked.

"Oh, I was sorta hoping you could fix it for me," Jen held out the torn and shredded clothing before him.

Max rubbed the back of his head absentmindedly, unsure how to respond.

"Kiddo, I think it's going to be easier if you just throw that thing out and get a new one."

Jen pouted, "No, I love this hoodie! It's one of a kind!"

Sighing at the stubborn attitude of his granddaughter, Max motioned towards the chair behind her.

"Leave it there," he gave in. "I'll see what I can do about it later, but I'm not making any promises."

Jen beamed, happy that her favorite piece of clothing was going to be fixed. Laying the hoodie on top the chair, the teen noticed a worried gaze in her grandfather's eye.

"Jen, I called you here to let you know that you won't have to go on missions for a while," he started, noticing her confused expression. "Rook has caught a little bug, nothing serious, but he's in no condition to be fighting. You'll get a few days off until he recovers."

"Wait! Is he ok?" Jen asked with wide eyes as she leaned against the island counter between her and Max.

The older man chucked, "I just said it wasn't anything serious, Jen. Basically the Revonnian equivalent of the common cold. He'll be back to his old self in no time."

The teen stared at her grandfather, eyes bright and conflicted with worry. Max gently patted his granddaughter on the shoulder and told her to enjoy her time off despite this.

"Hold up," Jen raised a brow at him, "couldn't you have just called and told me this? Why am I even here?"

Max pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket and held it out towards Jen, "I need you pick up a few things in the Undertown market for me. I hear they have a sale on dried Pikar Leaves."

"Ugh," Jen groaned, "this is why I had to wake up at 9:30 on a Saturday?"

Smiling warmly, Max kissed the top of his granddaughter's head, "I really appreciate it kiddo."

Pouting slightly at his words, the teen knew she was beaten. As she stared at the strange items on the list Jen grimaced hoping that she wasn't going to have to eat any of this stuff later in the day. Musing to herself the teen thought that this was the kind of thing her partner would eat during their lunch hour; being totally gross as he was. Suddenly, Jen's eyes grew wide and an idea formed.

"Hey grandpa, did that soup Rook's grandmother used to make have granulated, or powdered mealworms?"

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Corteloptis soup was the most frustrating, and difficult dishes Jen ever had the displeasure of making. Not only did it require a ton of ingredients she had to carry from Undertown to the base, but the meat used to make it had to be live. Like before when she and Rook wrestled the crab-like creature into the soup pot, Jen and Max had to fight for their lives in the kitchen. The little beast scratched up Jen's arms causing some odd blue marks to appear. The teen had no choice but to wear the tattered hoodie as she walked through the halls of the Plumber base, carrying the thermos of Corteloptis soup in hand.

It wasn't that young hero was ashamed of the scars she earned in battle, but getting scratched up by food was a little embarrassing. Plus, now way she wanted Rook too see how much trouble it took to make this. Poor guy had enough to deal with being stuck in bed all day. Jen attempted to move her hair over the few scratches left on her cheek from when the creature attempted to cut up her face. Gripping the thermos in hand, the teen couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for taking down the creature.

"Now who has the last laugh?" Jen grinned maliciously while swishing the soup inside.

"Jen!" a familiar voice called out to her. "Jen you forgot these!"

The teen quickly turned around to see her grandfather carrying two books in hand. With a relived sigh, Jen took the books from him with a smile.

"Thanks grandpa," she said sheepishly. "Knew I was missing something."

Max panted for a moment muttering something about not being as young as he used to be under his breath. Stretching the muscles in his back, the older man looked at his granddaughter with a suspicious gaze.

"Since when do you read books by Merzel of Eldus Prime?"

"Hm?" Jen said in confusion, only to glance down at the texts in her hand. "Oh, well, I saw them in the market place and remembered Rook mentioning this guy one time when we were tracking Dr. Animo and, I dunno, thought he might like to read it while he's stuck in bed."

Max raised a brow and studied his granddaughter's stance, "So you made Rook soup and bought him a gift? Isn't that a little forward missy?"

"Wha-?" Jen's mouth was agape and eyes wide. "No! Grandpa! I'm just helping out a sick friend, uh, partner. Come on, I mean, he needs to relax to get better right? Well, this stuff will help him get back out into the field faster."

"Uh huh," the older male said unconvincingly, "where was this generosity when Kevin or Gwen got sick?"

Jen bit her cheek and protested, "I visited them! Besides, they have each other to give this stuff to. Rook's from another world. I just want him to feel comfortable here."

Max crossed his arms and stared at his granddaughter with a neutral expression. He noticed Jen's behavior changing around Rook. She was studying more, training in her alien forms, and even helping clean up sometimes after her missions. There was something stirring in the back of the older man's mind. A part of him knew what she was doing, but as far as he could see Jen was changing for the better and it was all thanks to Rook.

"Hmm. Well, let me know how he likes the soup, and Jen?"

"Yeah?" she asked warily.

Max grinned, "Don't be so nervous."

Jen then noticed his gaze towards her hands, fidgeting and fumbling over the books and thermos she carried. Being told by both her family and friends that this was something she often did when when nervous caused the teen to quickly hide her hands behind her back. To which Max lightly chuckled at his granddaughter's embarrassment, only to walk away asking her to wish Rook well for him. Jen stood there in the middle of the hall, and once her grandfather was out of sight she took out the gifts and looked at them for a while.

What was she doing?

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It felt as if fog clouded his mind and swept through the veins in his body, physically pushing him to stay in bed. Rook rubbed his forehead only to pull away when he felt the burning sensation touch the skin of his hand. Being sick was uncomfortable, but being sick while away from home gathered a newfound loneliness in his chest. It was difficult to make calls to Revonnah while on such a far off world, and it was always strange to not have someone check in on him and ask if he was ok. The only person Rook talked to had been Magister Tennyson, but that was only to notify him of his condition.

The Revonnahgander smiled weakly, imagining Jen's happy expression when she realizes she doesn't have to work for a few days. If there was a time to get sick, Rook figured that after encountering Khyber and his pet was probably the best time. A part of him, however, wanted to do more research on this Malware criminal Khyber mentioned but given how heavy his legs felt, sifting through old case files would have to wait for another day. Moaning slightly and shifting uncomfortably in his civilian clothe Rook missed the secure feeling of his Proto-Armor. Without it, he felt helpless and bored.

Before he could close his eyes again and drift into a sleep, a loud pounding sound broke Rook out of his rest. Sitting up in his bed, the Revvonian rubbed his throat before speaking. It was considered rude not to answer when someone was knocking, so Rook forced himself out of bed and wiped his brow full of sweat before opening the door.

"Yes?" he answered.

Much to his surprise Jen Tennyson stood at the entry way carrying various items and wearing a very torn up cover shirt.

"Did something happen to you?" Rook weakly gestured to her clothes.

"W-what?" Jen stuttered forcing herself to look at her partner directly in the eyes. "Oh, no, yeah I'm fine. Grandpa just hasn't fixed my hoodie yet, I'm just taking it for a test run before giving it to him."

The Revvonahgander rubbed his eyes slightly and yawned. Not convinced by her words, but too tired to pry.

"Would you like to come in?"

All Jen could do was nod as Rook stepped aside to let her in. The human teen shook her head and held the items tightly in her arms. She had never seen Rook in anything other than his full-body armor. The girl tried avert her gaze but found it difficult not to marvel at the beautiful black markings that adorned her partner's arms and legs. Twisting over muscle and through scars, the markings were like nothing Jen had seen before, but quickly the girl knew it would only make him uncomfortable if she stared too long.

Just as Rook sat on his bed again, covering his muscular legs with a blanket Jen finally realized how stupid she was. She had completely forgotten to ask how her partner was doing, and explain why she was here. Staring into his expecting gaze, Jen sat on the edge of his bed and shrugged while handing him the thermos.

"Hey, so, Grandpa and I made you some of that soup you liked so much," she grinned awkwardly. "To, you know, help you get better."

Rook gently took the thermos and sniffed its contents once he got it open.

"Corteloptis soup!" the Revonnian exclaimed with a smile. "Thank you both, you did not have to go through the trouble."

Jen glanced at him with a small smile on her face. It was nice to see her partner happy despite his obviously tired and weakened demeanor. Keeping the books by her hip, the teen shifted her gaze to his eyes.

"Don't sweat it. We're partners right? Trouble is in our job description," she chuckled slightly. "So, uh, you feeling any better?"

Before he could respond, Rook opened the thermos and started drinking the soup. The familiar taste warmed his throat and the smell reminded him of his grandmother working in the kitchen. Spices, the meat, the vegetables felt like Revonnah. After finishing another big gulp, Rook licked his lips, savoring the taste and smiled at his partner.

"Yes, I am definitely feeling much better," he started.

Jen smiled shyly, "I'm glad."

For a moment the human girl was at a loss of what to say or do. She had the two books in hand, but suddenly her grandfather's warning of it being too much made her hesitate. Jen's gaze averted from her partner's serene face as he again started drinking the soup. Taking a deep breathe, the teen attempted to regain her composure.

"I know when I'm sick, sitting in bed all day can get pretty depressing. So, I got you these. I mean, I know you mentioned reading this guy before and just thought maybe it'd help."

Jen quickly placed both books by his side. Rook then covered the soup and picked up one of the novels, studying it carefully.

"Merzel?" he commented.

"Yeah," Jen cupped her hands in her lap, "I mean, I didn't think you'd be into fictional stories and I know you like to research stuff, so, yeah."

Rook stared at Jen for a moment blankly, clearly making the young girl nervous and unsure of how he felt.

"Okay okay," Jen exhaled in defeat, "I know I shouldn't have assumed what you like to read, but-"

"No!" Rook held up his hand to stop her. "Merzel wrote a guide book to understanding Earth that I studied once learning I was coming to your planet. He is an excellent writer, and I am sure I will enjoy these books."

For some reason it was silent after that. Jen, while relieved that Rook liked his gift, felt that there was something left unsaid. Absentmindedly gripping the quilt beneath her fingers, Jen bit her lip and faced Rook full on.

"Come on, spit out. I sense a 'however' coming on," she stated boldly.

"However," the teen sighed in frustration at her prediction coming true, "you did not have to trouble yourself. This is...very generous of you, but..."

Jen paused, her muscles suddenly getting tense, "What?"

Rook raised a brow suspiciously and coughed. After grabbing a nearby cloth to cover his mouth, the Revonnaian continued, "Nothing, I am just surprised you'd do all this for me."

Suddenly the teen felt herself flush in embarrassment and she grew defensive, "I do this for all my friends, and plus you can't just stay in bed with nothing to do, I mean what fun is that? Right?"

Rook stared at his partner with a confused look in eyes. Jen, feeling bad for lying to him, noticed his discomfort. Feeling corned, the girl just laughed and quickly stood up from his bed.

"Okay, well, I don't want to bother you more than I have, plus I gotta get grandpa to fix this hoodie otherwise I may never get back. You know how it is."

The teen continued to ramble as she slowly inched towards the door. Rook shook his head slightly, unclear on what she was doing or saying. Before Jen was too far away, the Revonnian reached out and gently gripped her wrist.

"Wait," he said suddenly, "I don't know 'how it is', what are you-?"

As Rook spoke he felt something odd in his palm; his partner's wrist felt different from her hands. Opening his own hand a little the Revonnahgander could see rough patches of skin in various thin blue scratches trail up her arm underneath the hoodie. Immediately Rook looked at his soup, remembering when Jen was first attacked by the creature used to make this meal, and the blue marks she gained on her shoulder because of it. Narrowing his gaze towards his flushed partner, Jen shrugged and pulled the jacket over both of her hands.

"Don't worry dude, just a scratch," she assured while inching again towards the door again. "I mean, that comes with the job, right? No pain no game, as we Earthlings like to say!"

Just as the teen opened his door, she turned back to face him with a calmer expression, "Get well soon okay? We still have some evil alien butt to kick, and grandpa won't let me do it alone."

Rook coughed slightly but kept it mostly in his chest. Without thinking of a means to make the girl stay, Rook nodded and said quietly, "Sure."

"Great! See ya soon!"

And then she was gone. The smell of the Corteloptis soup lingered in the air, filling the room with its wonderful scent. Rook tried to make sense of what had just happened. Jen often bought smoothies for him, but never anything she had made herself nor something like a book by an author he just happened to mention off hand. For a moment, Rook gave a small smile suddenly feeling less lonely than before. He may not have had his family around, but it was nice to know that someone cared enough to check in on him, even if the entire ordeal was a little strange.

Jen stood outside her partner's door and bit her lip before deciding to walk away. Wrapping her arms around herself, the teen could still feel the scratches beneath the damaged fabric.

"Ugh," she groaned, "why did I act so stupid? What's wrong with me? I shouldn't have left him like that."

Muttering similar words under her breathe, Jen continued to walk down the halls unsure of her actions. She liked Rook, heck she wished she could do half of the things he could. Not that she would ever tell him that, but sometimes the teen just didn't know what to say to him. A part of Jen wanted to show Rook how cool she thought he was. How cool it was that he could fix a ship and a car, or how he knew so many different fighting styles, or how he studied all the time, and actively tried to help others in ways Jen never tried before. Rook was an inspiring person, and sometimes she didn't know what to say to him.

The teen huffed in frustration and rubbed her injured arms, wincing at the small stinging pain every once in a while.

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**I SUUUUUUCK at writing romance and yet I love these two...any help is appreciated.**

**Gave you guys a bonus here though, two drabbles in one!**

**Another thing I'd like to make clear about the concept of Jen training with Rook: yes I saw 'Outbreak' and, yes Jen still hasn't trained with Rook in her human form. This chapter brings up, from the previous chapter, that Jen trains with Rook but ONLY as her different aliens. **

**'Outbreak' brought up the idea of Ben learning more about combat while he's a human.**

**So this is still following Omniverse lore.**

**I also have more genderbent news: Julie Yamamoto is now Julian. But he won't be brought up for a while. Other than that (and male Kai) there are no other genderbent people until further notice. Also, I may be really busy the next few weeks (due to christmas and my birthday in January) so I won't be able to update this fic for a while. Not to mention that I am also working on a different Ben 10 one-shot fic that yes, involves Ben. So be on the lookout for that.**

**Enjoy guys.**

**PLEASE let me know what you think.**

**R&R!**


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